Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Controlling Filamentous algae

Last year up hear in the Catskill Mountains of New York we had a terrible time trying to control Filamentous algae. In NY state there are limitations on chemical controls that can be used and Tilapia are not an option as it gets too cold here in winter. As a result, my wife and I spend a good part of the summer manually removing it.

My Pond Expert, Scott Trava of Catskill Pond, recommended that we try pond dye. We used blue/black die in the recommended amounts for our 1 1/2 acre pond and the results are remarkable. Between our aeration system and the dye we have no FA at all this year while all the ponds around us in the area are loaded again.

The theory is that the dye will limit the light penetration in the water and it sure seems to do the trick. We are again in a drought condition here again so we have had no run off since before Memorial day. If we do get a heavy runoff before fall we may need to dose it again to make sure we keep the correct levels.

The great thing about the dye is that is harmless to fish and human swimmers when used as directed and it really makes the water surface pleasing to look at especially on a clear blue day where it now takes on the sky colors.

I would recommend this approach to anyone having FA problems this year.

And the downside is the dye cuts into the food chain of your pond, by restricting sunlight to phytoplankton along with all other pond plants. But dye is one tool that the PM can use to achieve his goals - in which a clean, FA-free pond may easily be more important than the food chain.

Good post, Tuzz. I am adding this thread to the FA archive.

I agree that it requires a balance. We still have plenty of phytoplankton and other pond plants that are doing well with the dye even though the FA is not to be seen. That takes a little trial and error but we seemed to hit it right the first try. Our pond gets a full sun exposure and there is a marsh behind it that also provides a bleed of water as the level goes down. Along with that we have plenty of tadpoles, frogs, and even some monster golden shiners. photo below:


The Bluegills and bass are also thriving. We have a major fry of both in the past 2 weeks.

Depending on how big your pond is....and if you have a earthen bottom. If you can touch the bottom.....just swim in it and stomp around. It will cloud the pond, do the same thing as dye....and wont cost you a dime.